Throughout 2024, residents and other stakeholders on Atlanta’s southside have occasionally asked for updates on the largest development proposal near the Beltline’s southern crescent, following what appeared to be the beginnings of construction permitting activity in fall last year and again in January. Some nearby real estate listings have cited the promise of that project, Sawtell, as a key selling point.

“Just really need some rooftops over here,” a new Chosewood Park resident wrote to Urbanize Atlanta earlier this month. “I’m missing a walkable grocery store so bad!”

As the year winds down, Sawtell development leaders send word, in a nutshell, that nobody should hold their breath—but that 2025 could be different.

Veteran Atlanta-based developer Kaplan Residential partnered with private real estate fund manager Origin Investments to buy the 40-acre Sawtell parcel for $31.5 million in early 2022, forecasting a master-planned “village” would take shape across multiple phases. Project officials predicted at the time a groundbreaking would happen before the end of that year.

Kaplan officials referred all questions this month regarding Sawtell’s construction timeline, scope, and potential delivery to Origin. A spokesperson with Origin replied this week that “there is nothing new to report” on Sawtell’s plans and that no new permits are being sought.

“Origin is giving thoughtful consideration to the best path forward for Sawtell to meet the demands of the marketplace,” wrote the company rep to Urbanize via email. “They expect to have further details in the first half of 2025.”

Illustration of the 40-acre site when it was marketed for sale in 2019. LoopNet

The “catalytic” vision for the industrial infill site—named for its 500 Sawtell Ave. address—calls for more than 2,000 multifamily residences, up to 150,000 square feet of commercial space described as “diversified,” and a range of greenspaces such as pocket parks—eventually. Kaplan officials have predicted Sawtell will grow to become the largest mixed-use destination around the Beltline’s expanding Southside Trail corridor, in the vein of a southside version of Atlanta Dairies, Echo Street West in English Avenue, or Inman Park’s commercial core, only larger.

Permitting details from January indicated Kaplan’s first step would be to start smaller. On a 5-acre portion of the site, the scope called for building 86 residences described as townhome-style condos, plus roads, lighting, sewers, and other infrastructure, alongside parking for 181 vehicles. No commercial component was mentioned.

Overview of uses planned a half-mile south of the BeltLine. The Chosewood Park industrial property on Sawtell Avenue will eventually see 2,000 homes—and much more—across 40 acres, the development team says.Courtesy of Origin Investments, Kaplan Residential

The project is set to be funded by Origin’s $300 million Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund II, per Kaplan’s Sawtell project page. It sits within a Federal Opportunity Zone and could qualify for significant tax savings, according to previous marketing materials.

The site is located about a half-mile south of the Beltline corridor, across the street from Atlanta’s U.S. Penitentiary and just east of the downtown Connector. The property first came to market under the name “The Sawtell” in early 2019, when marketers issued a call for bids from developers.

Elsewhere in the metro, Kaplan is partnering with Brock Built Homes to build more than 230 rental townhomes across 20 acres next to MARTA’s last stop on the Blue Line. The developer also set a record for downtown multifamily building sales by offloading its 17-story Generation Atlanta complex for $126.9 million in 2021.

Origin has been involved with five multifamily projects around Atlanta over the past decade totaling more than 1,500 units, including the development of Olmsted Chamblee on the flipside of ITP Atlanta, as officials said in 2022, when the Sawtell partnership was finalized.

In blocks south of the Beltline corridor, the only project to rival Sawtell in terms of scope is Empire Communities’ under-construction Zephyr project, also in Chosewood Park. That calls for a mix of roughly 1,000 townhomes and condos to eventually rise across 34 acres along Boulevard.

The 40-acre Sawtell Avenue site in question on the southern edge of Chosewood Park. Google Maps

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